Driving the Land Rover Range Rover puts you among the queens of all hair heights, but the big gal’s size can make you wince at the idea of hustling her through curves and tight city streets. The SUV’s off-road capability and all-road luxury are legendary. What Land Rover needed was a vehicle that combined all of the Range Rover’s excellence in a slightly more compressed package.
Shimmy up to the Range Rover Sport.

Its size is an illusion. Parked next to most SUVs, the RR Sport looks imposing. It’s only when you roll it up next to an Escalade or Navigator do you sense its more maneuverable proportions. Even so, it was much easier on narrow urban streets and while parking near my inner-city house. A long hood, elevated ride height and sloping rear window comply with tradition, but aero-affected edges succumb to style trends and fuel prices; 19-in. alloys looked hot under the slab of body.

Of course, saving fuel is relative. You can option the RR Sport with a 510-hp supercharged engine, but the standard 375-hp aluminum 5.0-liter V8 in our test car was plenty adequate. It tossed the wagon down the Interstate and off the line, but it will eat your wallet for 13/18-MPG city/hwy. Four-wheel anti-lock disc brakes, electronic stability control, and traction control are calibrated for high-end running. A four-wheel independent air suspension system can be lowered for highways, raised for off-roading and kneel for graceful entry.

At the slower end of the RR’s performance envelope is an array of sophisticated traction devices. Hill descent control and hill hold control let the RR creep down steepers or hold a brief moment while the driver lifts from brake to throttle. Land Rover’s pioneering terrain response system can be dialed for conditions like sand, mud, gravel, grass, snow or rocks. Permanent four-wheel- drive back up the Range Rover’s name with mountain goat capability.

All that, and you’ll still be treated like you own a country estate. Leather, carpets and dash materials are of the highest grade; seats are all-day comfy, and rear passengers can peer over their land while front seat surveyors look down at a wide hood. In-dash navigation, 240-watt Harman-Kardon audio, USB iPod integration, Bluetooth phone connection, rain sensing wipers, park distance control, backing camera and dual zone climate control load the chariot.

Seats, mirrors, and steering wheels are all heated — perfect for an upcoming mid-winter’s romp.

More playful than weighful, the Range Rover Sport shows that you can have your luxury SUV and hustle, too. For my use, I prefer the Sport to its larger sibling. It is accomplished off-road — maybe more so with its tighter wheelbase — and it is noticeably more athletic on the open road or when curves play on asphalt. I love the Range Rover, but could more easily live with a Range Rover Sport in my ‘hood.

With a base price of $60,500, it is anything but cheap. Compared to the $80,000 Range Rover, it is a royal bargain.

This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition December 9, 2011.